And it's not going to happen overnight. But it seems to me that politics and political fears are getting in the way of developing plans that can really achieve something.

It's not going to happen at all. Republicans want walls, and turning away refugees. Plus their businesses benefit from black market labor that has no recourse (i.e. can't call the cops because they'll be deported). Meanwhile, Dems can't agree on what they want (a very few want open borders, some think we're doing enough, others want fundamental change). Many forget that Obama was roasted by pro-immigration groups for being the "deporter in chief" because of the number of deportation during his 8 years. We've had all Dem government, and all Rep government, within the past 20 years, and no one did anything. Albaby has opined, and he's probably right, that the Dems don't want to expend political capital on the issue, having other priorities such as healthcare.

I think I know what needs to be done, more or less. No one is proposing anything remotely like that.